Good News! Having an Uneven Wedding Party Is Not the End of the World!

My fiance has NINE good friends, none of whom he is willing to eliminate from his wedding party. Between our brothers, his college roommates, and childhood friends, I don’t even know who I could ask him to cut.

This is the pickle: I only have six, maybe seven, women who I really feel compelled to ask to be bridemaids, including my maid of honor. Frankly, bridesmaids have more obligations than groomsmen: attending or throwing a shower and bachelorette, purchasing a dress, and endlessly giving opinions. I only want my very closest friends to go through all the more personal aspects of planning my wedding with me.

So how do I balance out an uneven wedding party? Especially during the ceremony and recessional? I don't want it to look lopsided. Making some of the groomsmen ushers won’t even work. We have more boys than we know what to do with! Please, please, please help!

Here are my thoughts:

Deep breath, Noel. Everything’s going to be okay! As a dear friend of mine would say, “it’s just not that serious!”

I don’t know where the crazy notion that a bride and groom must have the exact same number of attendants originated, but it’s not true! Be grateful that as a couple you have so many close friends—and then consider one of these options:

If you’re going to have the guys escort girls down the aisle before the ceremony, just give some girls two guys.

Exhibit A. Not that weird, right?

When they get to then end of the aisle, they can split to their respective sides. To keep the sides from looking uneven, just have the girls stand a little bit farther apart. (You can practice during your rehearsal dinner). Even if they’re not perfectly spaced, your guests are going to be looking at you during the ceremony—not judging the how even your wedding party is.

Or, if you’re worried the line of groomsmen will be squished, arrange the whole party behind you, like this:

Exhibit B. As you can see, I had a popular groom, too—and it all worked out just fine!

After the ceremony, have two guys grab one girl, and you’re all set! I promise the numbers game isn’t worth stressing about!

Ladies, do you think it’s okay if the bride and groom don’t have an equal number of friends? (Rory had 11 attendants—I had 6!) Or do you prefer to see things all matched up? If having even numbers is a must, what should Noel do?